


rain down and destroy me

by thisapathy



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Breakups, F/M, First Love, Fluff, M/M, in which Carl is raised by Lori and Shane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-07 18:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5466950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisapathy/pseuds/thisapathy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carl meets Ron in his sophomore year of high school. Meeting Ron changes everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	rain down and destroy me

**Author's Note:**

> another angst fest because i'm still sad trash and apparently i ship carl/ron now ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> \+ carl's 16 in the beginning and 17 by the end of this  
> \+ shane and lori are carl's parents  
> \+ rick is 42

As soon as he hits the doors of Barnes and Noble, he smells coffee from the café. He has the title of the book he needs scribbled on a piece of paper. He walks to the service desk in the center of the store because he doesn't want to waste time looking for the stupid book he doesn't want to read. It's for school, though, so he doesn't really have a choice. Of course, the boy working the counter just happens to be cute and Carl gets flustered before he even opens his mouth.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, um." Carl hands the kid—Ron, his name tag reads—the piece of paper. Shit, his face is red. He knows it is because it's suddenly 100 degrees in the store.

Ron glances at it and hands it back to him. He walks out from behind the counter and motions for Carl to follow him. "You go to Memorial?" Ron asks.

Carl watches Ron's feet as he walks in front of him. "Yes. Um, yeah, I do."

"I think I've seen you around. I'd know those eyes anywhere."

Fuck, this kid is hitting on him! How does he know if Carl even likes boys? He's barely said anything at all.

"I'm just kidding," Ron says, glancing back. Carl looks at him dumbly. "Unless you don't want me to be which, in that case, I'm not kidding." He stops at a table full of required reading books and plucks a copy of Beowulf off the top, handing it to Carl.

"Thanks," Carl murmurs. He knows he's blushing because he can feel it, and he hates it.

"You can check out at the front."

Carl nods and heads to the front of the store, fully aware that this Ron kid is still following him. He glances over his shoulder and something in Carl tells him to stop. No matter how embarrassed he is right now, he just needs to stop walking. When he does, he turns around to face Ron.

Ron looks both relieved and surprised. He's playing with his name tag around his neck. "Would you, uh. You wanna go out sometime? With me? If you're even into guys? Which, I don't know, you don't give off a vibe of any kind but like—"

Carl laughs a little because now Ron is embarrassed, too, and his cheeks are also pink. "Yes," he says.

Ron looks all kinds of relieved. He pulls a pen from his pocket, taking the book from Carl's hand and scribbling his number on the inside cover. "Here," he says, handing it back. "Call me."

+

Carl ends up calling him and they go to Chili's for their first date. It's casual enough for both of them to be comfortable. Carl doesn't really elaborate when he tells Lori and Shane that he's going out. He just says he'll be back before 10. He and Ron and laugh through dinner and dessert and Carl has a fluttering feeling in his stomach and his cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

At 10 till 10, Ron walks Carl up to the door of his house.

"This was fun," Ron says.

"It was," Carl agrees. He shifts on his feet and feels like he's waiting on something. What, he doesn't know, just—something.

He realizes what it is when Ron licks his lips and asks, "Can I kiss you?"

Carl nods because he doesn't quite trust his voice. His heart is pounding in his chest when Ron cups his cheek and his eyes slide closed as soon as Ron brushes their lips together. It's his first kiss, his first _real_ , breathtaking kiss and the butterflies in his stomach are going crazy.

Carl opens his eyes and can't help but smile.

+

He waits a little while to tell Lori and Shane about Ron. When he does, they take the news okay. Shane seems a little hesitant to meet Ron at first, but when Carl invites him over for dinner 2 weeks after their first date, Lori and Shane agree that Ron is a nice kid.

They get serious pretty fast. Within a month and a half Carl knows that he loves Ron. He doesn't want to say it right away and waits until he's absolutely bursting. It kind of falls out of his mouth during lunch one day when Ron laughs so hard he spits water all over the table. Carl reaches over with a napkin and wipes the water dribble from Ron's chin. "I think I love you," he whispers.

Ron stands up and leans over the table, kissing Carl's cheek. He doesn't worry about who sees them. "I think I love you, too."

+

They spend Thanksgiving break together and Carl actually invites Ron's mom and brother over for dinner. They come and Jessie brings an amazing cheesecake she made and Ron and Carl sit beside each other and hold hands under the table.

Sam and Jessie help Lori with the dishes and Shane goes to lie down because he ate too much and Ron and Carl get comfy on the sofa. Ron sits at the end of the couch and Carl leans against him, sleepy from laughing and cooking and cleaning. When Ron puts an arm around him, Carl falls asleep just like that.

+

They're together for almost four months before they have sex for the first time. They take advantage of the Christmas break to find time for it. Ron invites Carl over when Jessie and Sam are gone and he makes it special and takes his time and Carl's scared, but Ron reassures him that it won't hurt and they can stop at any time if Carl wants.

They don't stop, and it's everything Carl imagined it would be.

+

Carl comes home from school one day to find Lori gone and Shane's car in the driveway. He walks in through the garage door and Shane is in the kitchen fixing a sandwich. He turns to Carl and smiles. "Hey, how was school?"

"It was good," Carl answers him. "Where's Mom?"

"She's at the store. How's Ron?"

Carl smiles faintly at the mention of his boyfriend. "He's good."

"Y'know, you seemed a little lost at the beginning of the year," Shane explains. "Ron seems to help."

"He helped," Carl admits. "I mean, I know we're just kids but I love him." He loves that he can be open with his parents, that his dad is willing to talk about his son's boyfriend instead of being repulsed like Ron's dad would be, were he still alive.

"I know."

"How?"

"You look at him the same way your mom looks at me."

+

When Ron starts to apply to colleges, Carl gets a little panicky. He hopes that Ron will apply to schools that aren't too far away but he doesn't deter Ron from applying to any school he wants to. He knows that he and Ron may not be forever and he understands that, but when Ron gets accepted to Charleston Southern University, in South Carolina the reality of him leaving becomes a little too real.

+

On Carl's birthday Ron takes him to Olive Garden. It's not fancy but that's okay, because Ron doesn't make much money working at Barnes and Noble. Carl isn't expecting a gift, but Ron presents him with a Fossil watch. It's really nice and looks so expensive that Carl gets a little teary eyed when he opens it. Ron assures him that he bought it at the outlet, but that doesn't stop Carl from sliding into Ron's side of the booth and kissing him slow and deep.

+

When prom time rolls around Ron asks Carl to go with him. Carl doesn't really want to, but it seems important to Ron so he agrees.

Their families make a huge production of it. Carl rents a tux and Lori fusses at him until he lets Jessie trim his hair. They meet at Ron's house for pictures and drive away in a limo with their friends. Their friends are all seniors and they were Ron's friends first, but they've accepted Carl and welcomed him into their group. As they sit in the back of the limo, Carl realizes that not only is his boyfriend leaving at the end of summer but his friends are, too.

+

Graduation is hard. Like, really hard. Carl and Lori go with Ron's family to the stadium and Carl sits and he's quiet mostly. He claps when Ron is one of the first names announced. He sits through the other 2 hours of the ceremony eagerly awaiting the moment when Ron will rush to him afterwards and hold him against his side.

+

During summer Ron starts working nearly full time. He's saving up for the move in the fall and Carl understands that. He also understands that Ron hasn't broken up with him yet, so he's very understanding that Ron wants to try to make this work so Carl makes an effort. He takes his mom's van to Barnes and Noble when she'll let him and he'll bring Ron lunch and they'll sit in the cafe and talk until Ron's short 15 minute break is over.

+

They're in Ron's bedroom packing his things to move into the dorm in South Carolina. Carl is making good progress on sorting through the books Ron said he wants to bring until he finds a receipt from Chili's. He goes to throw it away until he sees the date and realizes that's when Ron first took him out. He turns to his boyfriend who's sorting through the clothes in his closet. "You kept this?"

Ron steps over and takes a closer look. "Oh, yeah."

"Why?"

Ron drapes his arms around Carl's neck and kisses his forehead. "I wanted to remember."

+

The day Ron leaves is hard. Carl drives his mom's van over to Ron's house and they sit on the bed in Ron's bedroom. Ron takes Carl's hand and he looks upset and Carl is sure this is when they're going to break up.

"I love you," he says softly. He strokes the back of Carl's hand with his thumb.

"I love you too," Carl whispers back.

"I'll try to come home as much as I can. We can FaceTime and text and everything. I'm not gonna forget about you."

Carl rests his head against Ron's shoulder. "I know."

When it's time for him to leave, Ron stands up and leads Carl down the stairs. Carl doesn't let go of Ron's hand until he's getting in his Jeep and ready to drive away.

+

When Carl starts high school again in the fall, he realizes that he needs to make an effort to find friends because all of his are in college now. Everything seems a little less colorful and a lot less exciting without Ron around. Carl knows that Ron is busy getting settled in and so he waits patiently for Ron to text or call first. But waiting is hard so he'll send Ron a text every now and then and call and leave a voicemail when Ron doesn't answer.

For the first couple of weeks Ron will call him right before bed, but after that the calls and texts get fewer and further between.

+

Carl is excited to see that Ron is calling him in the afternoon before the week of Thanksgiving. He slides to answer it. His smile is uncontrollable and he's sure Ron can tell that by the sound of his voice.

"Hey," he answers.

Ron sounds just as happy. "Hey, baby, real quick—I'm between classes. I'm coming home for Thanksgiving break so don't make plans okay? I'll be there Wednesday morning."

"Yeah, of course. I can't wait to see you."

"I know. Me too. But, hey, I gotta go. I love you."

"I love you, too."

+

Ron comes home on Wednesday when Lori and Shane are gone and they have sex in Carl's room and Carl settles into the crook of Ron's arm and decides that he could die right now and be perfectly content with it.

They have separate family meals this year. Carl doesn't mind, it's just that Ron doesn't come back over to see him again until it's almost 5 o'clock on Thanksgiving. When he shows up, Carl comes outside at Ron's request and they take a walk down the street.

There's a sinking feeling in Carl's stomach because Ron doesn't seem quite as happy as he was yesterday, doesn't seem to hold his hand quite as tightly as before. They walk past the vacant house 3 doors down on the way back to Carl's house. Ron stops him in the middle of the driveway.

"We need to talk," Ron says softly.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck._  Carl doesn't like the tone of his voice. He holds tight onto Ron's hands and squeezes his fingers a little.

Ron squeezes back. "I love you," Ron tells him, "but I can't do this to you. It's not fair of me to."

 _No, no, no._ "What are you talking about? Do what to me?" he asks, panicky.

"I can only come home every few months. When I'm at school I barely have time to sleep, much less talk or text or call you. I hate it. I can't keep hurting you like this."

"It's okay," Carl tells him. His voice starts to quiver and he squeezes Ron's fingers as hard as he can. "Please. I can handle it, I don't want--"

"You don't deserve this," Ron cuts in gently. "You need someone who can be here for you all the time. Every time I see you've called or texted and I don't have time to respond, I'm hurting you all over again."

"No, please, no," Carl whispers. He's not sure at what point he starts crying but he does.

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too," Carl says, a little whiny. "That's why you can't do this."

"I have to," Ron whispers. He hugs Carl then, buries his face in Carl's hair and now he's crying, too.

"Please! You can't, you can't, please, Ron. _Please_." His words are muffled by Ron's shoulder. He's begging and now he's sobbing and Ron is rubbing his back and leading him over to sit down on the porch. Carl's not quite hysterical, but almost. "Please don't do this to me. Please, I love you. _Please_!"

Ron takes a deep breath in, exhaling slowly. "Carl. Carl, listen to me." Ron cups his face, making Carl look at him. "I love you and that's why I'm letting you go. You deserve someone who can spend time with you and that's just not me. If I could fix it I would, but I can't. Maybe—maybe in a few years after you've graduated we can try again."

Carl wipes his face with the back of his hand but tears are still falling. He sniffles and it's so pathetic and he hates himself for it.

"Talk to me," Ron pleads.

"I-I don't—I get why, I just. I don't. It _hurts_. It hurts so much."

Ron hugs him, kisses the side of his neck softly. "I know," he whispers. He's doing that thing where he runs his fingers through Carl's hair and it's so soothing that Carl calms down a little.

"I don't want you to go," he whimpers.

"I don't want to go," Ron whispers back. "It's what's best for both of us."

Carl nods but he doesn't agree. He can see where Ron is coming from, but that doesn't mean it isn't devastating. When he pulls back, Ron brushes his tears away and kisses his forehead. Ron stands up first and offers Carl his hand. Carl takes it, stands up and lets Ron lead him out to his Jeep. Carl's still crying, vision still blurry with tears, but he lets Ron kiss him one last time and he kisses back, just a little.

Carl glances down at his left wrist, lets go of Ron's hand and unfastens his watch—the watch Ron gave him for his birthday. He holds it out and Ron pushes it back gently. "Keep it," he says with a sad smile. He hugs Carl again, rubbing his back. "Take care of yourself. I love you."

Carl nods and wraps his arms around himself. He's hoping that maybe Ron will have second thoughts, but then Ron is getting in his Jeep and driving away and Carl just stands at the edge of the driveway with tears on his cheeks.

He's not sure how long he stands there for, but long enough that Lori comes out of the house looking for him.

"Carl?"

Carl turns to look at her and realizes that it's almost dark outside. He must've been standing here for at least 20 minutes. He walks up the driveway and his whole body aches.

"What happened?" Lori asks, worried.

His nose is runny and he doesn't really know what happened, just that Ron broke up with him and seemed like he didn't want to. Carl sniffles, looking up at Lori with red, puffy eyes. "He broke up with me," he whispers. How he manages to get that out all at once without sobbing, he doesn't know.

"Oh, honey."

When Carl realizes Ron left his plaid flannel in his bedroom, he's crying all over again.

+

The rest of Thanksgiving break is a blur. He stays in bed most days, showers only once between the time Ron broke up with him and the start of school again on Monday. Lori and Shane have tried their best to be supportive and it's helped a little, but not really. Mostly it helps because he knows they care.

They decorate the house for Christmas moreso than usual. Well, Lori does most of it. Carl hangs 3 ornaments on the tree and then remembers how last year he helped Ron and Sam and Jessie put up their tree and he can't do anything after that.

+

It's Tuesday night after dinner and Carl is curled up on the couch, the soft glow of Christmas lights illuminating the otherwise dark living room. He can hear his parents talking softly in the kitchen about how worried they are.

"All he does is sleep and go to school," Shane says. "Kid eats like a damn bird."

_I eat like a damn bird because I don't want to eat because everything tastes bland and I'm never hungry anymore._

"I know. He's taking it really hard. I'll talk to him about it."

Carl sighs and unlocks his phone. He checks Ron's Facebook page with such frequency that it's probably unhealthy, to be honest. Carl's profile picture is still the one of him and Ron at a football game when it was freezing and Carl's wearing Ron's beanie and Ron's kissing his cheek and now that Carl thinks about it, he probably should change it. It hurts to look at.

+

On Christmas morning Carl wishes he hadn't woken up. He sits on the sofa under a blanket and they're taking turns opening gifts. Maybe it's because they know Carl's not doing well emotionally but for whatever reason Lori and Shane give him a 15" Macbook Pro. It's expensive and they can't afford it. They're probably just trying to make him smile. He hasn't smiled since the day Ron left. He tries to but his mouth just won't cooperate and he ends up crying instead.

+

He's not sure when the last time the shirt he's wearing was washed. It smells like outside, or people who have been outside for prolonged periods of time. Not in a good way. He should probably wash it or have Lori wash it but if he puts the sleeve right up to his nose and inhales, he still gets the faint smell of Ron's cologne. He misses Ron so much, sometimes it makes him sick.

+

Sunday morning Lori knocks softly on his bedroom door before opening it. "I'm doing laundry. You need anything washed?"

Carl's sitting at his desk in yesterday's t-shirt, pajama pants and Ron's flannel. "No," he says easily.

Lori's quiet for a moment before she asks, "Are you ever going to take that off?"

They both know what Lori's reffering to though she doesn't elaborate. She's not saying it in a mean way and she's not trying to be mean, but Carl still wants to cry a little because it's kind of insensitive. He doesn't say anything until he's sure he can without his voice cracking. "I don't always wear it," he murmurs.

Lori comes in, sets her basket of dirty laundry down on his bed. "I know this is hard for you, honey, but it's been five weeks."

 _I love him._ Everyone knows you can't put a time limit on grieving something you've lost.

+

When Carl gets out of the shower one morning, he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He realizes just how thin he's gotten. He can see a distinct outline of his ribs. Oops.

+

New Year's comes and goes and Carl's just the same. He's barely keeps his grades up. His teachers are concerned. He doesn't bother to make friends when his class schedule switches around. He's quiet and doesn't talk to anyone and skips lunch because there are too many people in the cafeteria. Then in geometry, the asshole kid who thinks he's hilarious decides to ask him, "Is that the only shirt you own?"

Carl looks down at the flannel he's wearing and it's so stupid because it's just an over shirt and he wears a different shirt underneath it every day. He doesn't know why, but something compels Carl to punch the kid in the face.

He gets suspended from school for 3 days.

+

Lori makes him Carl around the house while he's home for those 3 days. She makes him clean his room and she takes his stupid coveted flannel shirt and washes it without him knowing. She makes him go to the grocery store with her. When they pull into the driveway they notice a moving truck 3 houses down. Carl starts to carry bags inside and on his way back out to get another handful, he sees Lori standing halfway between their house and the house with the moving truck. He looks a little closer and sees that she's talking to a man. She glances over her shoulder and seems surprised to see Carl back outside already.

"Come here," she says with a smile.

Carl walks over to where they're standing and it's freezing outside and he doesn't know why they're standing here talking.

"Carl, this is Rick. He's an old friend of mine."

Upon further inspection, Carl realizes this man is tall and has dark hair and blue eyes like his and a beard. _God, that accent_.

"Hey, nice to meet you." Rick extends his hand and Carl shakes it and _wow_ , Rick has really warm hands.

Carl smiles a little and Lori stares at him in awe. At first Carl wonders why, but then he remembers that he hasn't smiled since Ron left. "Hi," Carl says simply. He stands there for a moment as Rick explains to Lori what exactly he's doing back in town, and then Carl slips away to bring the groceries inside. If it weren't so cold, he would stand there all day just to listen to Rick talk.

And, well, if Lori notices Carl's eyes are a little brighter that night, she doesn't ask why.

+

Rick comes over to borrow a cup of sugar when Carl is home alone. Rick's request has Carl's curiosity up so when he leads Rick into the kitchen he asks why.

"Trying this new thing called baking. Got everything unpacked, just gotta make time to go to the store."

Carl gives him a one shoulder shrug and fills the measuring cup Rick is holding with the bag of sugar from the pantry.

"Thanks," Rick tells him, gesturing. "I'll bring you a piece of cake when it's done."

Carl smiles at him and for some reason, he's looking forward to it.

+

As promised, Rick brings Carl a piece of Texas sheet cake. It's delicious and chocolately and it's good enough as it is, but the fact that Rick with the sexy beard and heavy accent hand delivers it makes it taste that much better.

Rick stays and sits with Carl in the kitchen while he eats it. They talk about school and Rick tells Carl that he is— _was—_ a sheriff's deputy. He resigned, though, and now he's looking for work. For whatever reason, Carl explains to Rick that his boyfriend of over a year broke up with him a few months ago and he hasn't really been the same since.

Rick just sits and listens.

+

Carl and Rick seem to always bump into each other. Whether it be outside on their street or Walmart or the grocery store (or all 3 in the same week), Carl takes it as some sort of sign. He's attracted to Rick physically, but the more he listens to Rick talk and watches the way his eyes change when he talks about sad things and happy things and stressful things, the more Carl wants him. He still misses Ron, still thinks about him all the time. Still checks his Facebook, still wears the watch Ron gave him for his birthday.

When Rick invites Carl over to watch Jurassic World on his new TV, Carl accepts.

Things go okay at first. Carl waits patiently for Rick to come around because unless he's bad at reading people, Rick wants him, too. But they sit on opposite sides of the couch with a bowl of popcorn between them. When they reach for it at the same time and their fingers brush, Rick takes Carl by the hand and tugs him into his lap and then they're kissing and Carl doesn't think about Ron so much anymore.

They don't seem to notice that the popcorn spills all over the floor.

+

When Carl comes home, he finds his mother to be furious.

"Where were you? I called you ten times."

Carl grabs his phone from his back pocket to find it on do not disturb. _Oops_. "I'm sorry," Carl replies, holding his screen up so Lori can see it. "I forgot I had it turned down."

"Where were you?" she repeats.

"Rick invited me over to watch a movie."

Lori stares at him and Carl can't determine why she looks so horrified. "You can't do that anymore."

"Why?"

"Carl."

"What?"

"He's—Rick is a lot older than you. _A lot_. Please tell me you aren't trying—"

"We're not," Carl lies easily. Because, really, it was just kissing. He promises it was just kissing.

"Please stay away from Rick. You don't know him like I do. I don't want you to go over there anymore, okay?"

"But—"

"Okay?" she repeats.

"Okay," Carl agrees, only he's not telling the truth.

+

Carl obeys for the most part until he sees Rick at the mailbox and he waves.

Rick walks over. "Hey."

Carl brushes his hair from his face. "Hi."

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Carl says, somewhat confused.

"I hope I didn't overstep. That time you came over, I—I thought you maybe wanted that."

"I did," Carl tells him with a smile. He wanted to do much more than kissing. "My mom asked me to stay away from you."

Rick cocks his hip with an annoyed sigh. "Did she?"

"Yeah, um, I'm trying to, but obviously." He gestures. "Can't help it sometimes. Do—she's not home. You wanna come in?"

Rick hesitates. "I shouldn't."

Carl's heart sinks, but he nods. He gets it. He shouldn't be tempted and he shouldn't be tempting Rick either. Carl takes the stack of mail and goes back inside, tossing it on the counter. He grabs his phone and scrolls through Facebook on his way to his bedroom. He checks Ron's Facebook and—Oh, Ron changed his profile picture and— _Ron Anderson is in a relationship with Connor Starling._

Carl's shaking and he can't breathe and he drops his phone in the hallway and before he realizes what he's doing, he's running out of the house and rushing 3 doors down to see Rick. He pounds on the door and it's desperate and needy when he calls, "Rick!"

Rick comes to the door and he's shirtless, which is strange because Rick was just dressed at the mailbox, but he lets Carl in and lets Carl cry on his shoulder and he lets Carl in his bed and Rick fucks him until he stops crying.

+

Carl doesn't even realize that he doesn't have his phone. He and Rick have migrated to the living room and Carl's dressed again and he's just leaning against Rick's shoulder and there's a knock at the door.

Rick gets up, still shirtless and jeans hanging low. Carl's curious, has Rick's slightly-too-big shirt on over his own, and he peeks out from behind Rick to find his mother at the door. Her face is red, red, red.

"What the hell is going on?" Lori snaps. "I told you to stay away from him!"

Rick starts, "Lori—"

"Don't." She pushes Rick out of the way, grabbing Carl by his arm and tugging him out of the house and onto the porch. "Come on."

"Mom!" And now Carl's upset and he's crying and trying to pull away. "Stop! Why? Why do you care—"

Now Lori's crying and she's shaking she's so upset. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing! It was nothing, we just—"

"Lori—" Rick tries.

Lori ignores Rick, putting her hands on Carl's shoulders. "Did you sleep with him?"

"No!" And it's obvious Carl's lying because he's a terrible liar.

_"Did you sleep with him?!"_

"Yes," Carl admits, because he can't stand the rage in Lori's eyes and her booming voice and her shaking form. "Why?"

"Because Rick's your dad!" Lori shouts. She regrets it immediately, slaps her hand over her mouth and Carl's ears are ringing and his face is hot, but not in a good way. She's so loud that Rick hears her and before Carl knows it, Rick has a shirt on and he has his keys in his hand and Lori is trying to pull Carl back towards their house.

Carl struggles until he pulls back, and then he pushes his mom away. "Go home! God, just—fuck you!"

"Carl—"

"Shut up! What the fuck, Mom? _What the fuck_?" He glances over his shoulder, sees Rick heading down the street, glances at his mother and then he's chasing after Rick's truck. When Rick stops at the stop sign, Carl climbs in, face streaked with tears. Maybe—maybe if he had done this when Ron left, none of this would've happened.

"Drive," Carl whispers. "Just drive."


End file.
